Eight killed at site of illegal racing

Car not involved in early-morning competition plows into group

February 17, 2008|By SARAH ABRUZZESE The New York Times

ACCOKEEK, Md. — A car crashed into a group of spectators watching an illegal street race staged here in the early morning hours on a dark highway on Saturday, killing eight people and sending five others to the hospital.

The accident happened between 2:30 and 3 a.m., police said, when a car not involved in the race but traveling northbound along Route 210 plowed into spectators who may have been standing in the roadway, said Cpl. Clinton Copeland, a spokesman for the Prince George's County Police Department. He said investigators thought that the racers were "burning out," revving their car engines and spinning their tires in preparation for the race, possibly causing smoke and debris to hinder visibility on the roadway.

Seven people were pronounced dead at the scene, including one of the bystanders who was thrown through the windshield of the white Crown Victoria sedan that struck the spectators. An eighth victim died later at a hospital. The car's driver was not injured, but a passenger in the car was hospitalized.

No charges have been filed against the driver, who was not identified by police, and Copeland could not say whether the driver had been tested for alcohol or drugs.

People who live near the crash site in this tiny bedroom community of Washington say that illegal racing is nearly a weekly occurrence here and that drivers even transport their vehicles to this stretch of roadway on flatbed trucks.

Robert Stafford, 60, and his wife, Glenna, 59, who live a few hundred yards away from where the accident occurred, said they had been hearing the squealing tires from drag races for about 25 years, since the highway was expanded to four lanes and divided by a wide, grassy median. Stafford said they had given up on calling the Prince George's County Police Department and the state police.

"We've called and called," he said, adding that each time they hear a different story about who is responsible for patrolling that stretch of road. Sometimes officers do not even respond, he said.

Copeland, the Prince George's police spokesman, said the county has been aware of the races, which have been going on for years. "All we can do is come when somebody makes the call," he said.

Steve Swann, 36, of nearby Fort Washington, came to the crash site on Saturday afternoon with his cousin. Swann said he was at the race when the accident occurred and that the aftermath was horrifying.

The car came right up behind the two race cars "smashing everybody up. There was blood everywhere and everyone was trying to get away," he said. People were screaming, he said; he and his friends quickly left the scene.

Another spectator, Crystal Gaines, 27, of Indian Head, told The Associated Press, "There were just bodies everywhere; it was horrible."

Gaines said she grabbed her child but that she could not help her father, William Gaines Sr., 61, when she saw the Crown Victoria approach. Her father was killed in the crash.

Swann said it was the first time he had attended a race in the area. He also said in such races, drivers would often transport their cars, and there would be two or three races with bets being placed and winners taking home as much as $3,000.

Copeland said the victims ranged in age from their 20s to 60s. He said he was surprised by the age of the spectators because these events are often attended mainly by the young, and while he would not discuss how many people the police thought attended, Swann said there were about 200 spectators. Copeland said, "This is a tragedy of monumental proportions to have eight people lose their lives for the thrill of a road race."

The residents expressed sorrow, but said the accident was not a surprise.

"You see the skid marks in the morning," Stafford said. "It had to happen sooner or later. Every time we see it, we said someone innocent is going to get hurt."